In one of the most nerve-wracking regular season games in recent memory for Marist men’s basketball, Niagara’s attempt to leave McCann Arena in buzzer-beating fashion faltered after a reversed call to give the Red Foxes a slim 63-62 victory.
Before the theatrics, freshman guard Josh Pascarelli hit a clutch jumper with four seconds left to give Marist the lead to a roaring crowd’s delight.
“I was hitting pull-ups throughout the game so I felt confident. Jadin [Collins] came to me with a zoom, so I came off the ball screen to try to make something happen,” said Pascarelli.
Moments after, Niagara senior guard Luke Bumbalough nailed a deep 3-point bucket, but the referees reversed the call on replay, finding that Bumbalough did not get his shot off in time. After halftime, the Red Foxes completed a nine-point comeback to enter the MAAC tournament with momentum.
In a winner-take-all game for the last first-round bye of the MAAC tournament, Pascarelli led scorers with 16 points while junior forward Jackson Price added 13 of his own. Their efforts helped the Red Foxes punch their ticket to Atlantic City with the No. 3 seed, their highest seed since 2007.
“Really excited to get the win in dramatic fashion. I’m happy for the seniors, [Kam and Javon] played with great energy,” said Marist head coach John Dunne.
Marist honored three team members on senior day: graduate student forward Javon Cooley, senior guard Kam Farris and manager Joey Viner.
“It’s a memory I will remember for the rest of my life. I’m just happy the way that we played tonight and showed our resilience,” Cooley said.
In the opening minutes of the first half, both teams posted efficient offense, shooting over 50% from the field and 50% or better from 3-point range.
Junior guard Dre Bullock paced the Purple Eagles with 83% shooting from beyond the arc, finishing with 19. His third 3-pointer of the first half forced a Marist timeout with 8:24 left.
A 10-0 run by Niagara capped by another Bullock 3-pointer forced another timeout from the Red Foxes, who trailed 30-20 with 4:31 remaining in the first half. Marist had not scored for over four minutes.
Junior forward Jackson Price sparked a 6-0 Red Foxes spurt, but Marist could not get stops on the other end and finished the first half trailing 40-31. Along with Bullock’s 14 points, graduate student guard Kwane Marble II scored eight points and senior guard Braxton Bayless added seven off the bench.
Marist came out of the second half with an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to three points. Pascarelli drained his second 3-pointer to force a Niagara timeout with 15:11 left in the game.
Once again when Marist closed the gap, Niagara found an answer. Bullock hit his fifth and final 3-pointer of the night with10:04 remaining in the second half. Marist scored just three points in the previous five minutes and the Purple Eagles pushed their lead back to nine.
Price scored five straight to cut the deficit to two and get the home crowd involved, but Marble II silenced the arena with an inside score.
“We knew Jackson would get shots up, we just needed to trust him even though he was 0-for-4 [from 3-point range] until that point. Shooters got to shoot it with confidence,” said Dunne.
Pacarelli tied the game minutes later with a mid-range jumper and Niagara called timeout as their halftime lead vanished.
“We were going into dribble hand-offs and ball screens to force some movement. When [Obioha] is in, he plays drop coverage and stays in the paint. They’re willing to give up the pull-up,” said Dunne.
As tension grew, Price drew a charge with 1:03 remaining with the game tied at 60 and Farris drew a foul while driving to the rim. The senior hit one of two free throws with 34 seconds left.
“It meant the world, to have my family here is one of those moments that you kind of wait for growing up,” said Farris.
With Bumbalough’s score called off, the Red Foxes squeezed out a dramatic win on senior day, limiting the Purple Eagles to 22 second-half points.
“Our ball screen coverage was better, our recovery was a lot better. I think we eliminated some of that drive-and-kick in the second half and tightened up a little bit,” said Dunne.
With St. Peter’s losing to Quinnipiac, Marist earned the No. 3 seed in the MAAC championships. The Red Foxes will play on Thursday, Mar. 14 at 6:30 p.m. and their opponent is TBD.
Edited By Dan Aulbach
Photo Credit: Jaylen Rizzo
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